Tutoring an Overlord
by Iori-chan-sempai
Summary: Based on the Almaz Ending. Eventual Mao/Almaz. The new Overlord has been decreed-- and he's completely hopeless! Through lessons, vexations, and awkward moments, will Almaz and Mao find understanding and most of all, love? Eh, maybe.
1. Lesson 1

Almaz pounded on the door frantically, as he had been doing for the last three hours. Mao was honestly surprised he still had that much energy, especially because the noise was becoming extremely annoying.

"Mao-sama..!!" Almaz's pitiful voice wavered through the hard wood. Mao's eyebrow twitched; he stood and walked to the door, flinging it open with enough force to give Almaz's forehead an imprint of the wood that would remain for a whole day.

"Who are you calling Mao-sama? You're the Overlord! You're above everyone!" Mao began angrily, and Almaz cowered from the floor, rubbing at his bruised head with tears in his eyes.

"Mao-sama-" At Mao's glare, he swallowed roughly, "Mao... I can't be the Overlord! Can't I just make you the Overlord instead?"

Mao sighed, "No. The only way anyone could become Overlord is by killing you, or by you appointing an heir and then dying."

"B-but! Mao-sama! I'd make a terrible Overlord," he scrambled to his feet; Mao almost instantly nodded, agreeing.

"You've got to help me!"

Mao instantly froze, "...what?"

"Teach me to become a good Overlord! What am I supposed to do! I'm just a lowly human without any training for this kind of thing. I hardly know how to rule a school, much less an entire Netherworld."

"Pfft.. teach you?" Mao shook his head in disgust. What did his father see in this guy anyway? He was just a crying, loser, hero-wannabe. "And what do I get out of it?" His glasses shined eerily.

Almaz looked at him tearfully, "Y-you'll be helping a frien--"

The pencil Mao had in his hand snapped in two as he growled, "No one is my friend, let alone you!"

"Mao-sa--..." he took in a breath and assessed his friend, "Mao, do you still have to pretend even though you managed to open your heart to me?"

"I DID NOT." Mao protested once more, indignant, his face flushing red and voice growing louder from sheer embarrassment.

Almaz shook his head and sighed at Mao's constant self-denial, "Then how did I get my title back?"

Mao bit his lip at that one, "Well, maybe, I, just didn't find it precious anymore. After you died." The last part was said shortly and quietly, and Almaz felt like kicking himself for bringing it up.

He turned his head, "So you're saying that it was only precious while I was alive?"

"You wanted your title in order to return to the human world, didn't you?" Mao murmured, uncharacteristically tame, with a hint of sadness.

Almaz started, staring at him, "B-but I still had the title after being brought back to life..."

Mao simply shrugged and glanced away as he spoke, "Maybe that was... good enough. I was selfish to try and keep you here, and you ended up dying because of me. You also said you couldn't leave me alone, right? How could I take your title after that..?"

Caught off guard by his sudden openness, his eyes softened as he looked at the demon, "Mao... you're really..." Before he could finish the sentiment, Mao turned to him and pointedly glared.

"Shut up-- I'm in the middle determining whether I want to assist you or not!"

He knew that wasn't why Mao wanted him to be quiet, but he didn't finish his sentence anyway.

After a brief moment, Mao began to cackle, "Yes...yes! Sure, I'll help you out. But in return, you must become my experiment... I let that Super Hero get away from me, but I have a perfect specimen right in front of me." Almaz's body stiffened as Mao's glasses fogged up as he began to drool a little, "Haa...haa... oh, I wonder how much your body has changed since I last looked..."

He immediately started to regret everything when Mao's glasses twinkled in his direction and he, before he could even turn to run, was dragged into Mao's room-cum-laboratory.

"Wh-What-WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! DON'T DO THAT..! MAO! _THIS IS SEXUAL HARASSMENT_..!!"


	2. Lesson 2

Mao released the straps holding Almaz to the table, glasses opaque and cooing sounds of scientific delight. Almaz nearly shuddered as he sat up and returned to the ground, feeling exhausted and the need to huddle in a corner. He'd given up on screaming after the first hour, so his throat wasn't as sore as he expected.

Turning to Mao, he rubbed at his chaffing wrists, "Have I just forgotten what it was like, or was this time a little more... extreme?" Being prodded and poked at (and violated) he remembered, but being attached to a table, then scanned and sampled was something new.

Mao took in a breath, "Aah... A partial demon is easy to disturb, you know, with radiation and chemicals, even simple machinery." He drew back and grinned, "But now that you're an Overlord, I can do any experiment I want to you and not have to worry about any life-alte-- life-destroying effects!"

Almaz instantly froze, "You mean there could be life-altering effects?!"

Mao shrugged, "You can never be... sure. Science is always a gamble. But the great thing is, you won't die from my petty experiments-- ah, unless one is meant to kill you, I suppose-- but aside from that, it's perfect." His excitement was not shared as he put a hand to his heart and sighed, "Haaa... Is this what love feels like?"

Almaz sobered immediately, shaking his head, "No, no, it's nothing like that." He put back on his scarf and coat while Mao wrote down some.. observations or something. Whatever it was made him cackle evilly to himself a number of times, almost discouraging him from raising his voice, "... Mao-sama. That was one examination, wasn't it? So I get a lesson in return, right?"

Mao paused in his movements and glared at him over the top of his book, "If you don't quit the 'Mao-sama' routine, your 'lesson' will only be a review." And if that look said anything, it said that by review, he meant something torturous.

He gulped. "S-sorry. Mao. It's just kind of odd calling you Mao." After a moment though, he smiled at him, "Although, you saying that is kind of like finally admitting that we're fri--

Before he could finish the word, Mao's book slammed to the ground, "LESSON NUMBER TWO: You will refer to your teacher as Mao-sensei from now on and all slips of tongue will be punishable by dissection. Also, the Overlord is responsible for encouraging acts of proper demonic behavior. This also means that, as Dean, you will preside directly over the PTA and mend delinquents of their sickening ways."

Almaz waited patiently for him to continue.

Mao picked up his book and began to scribble in it once more.

After a minute had passed and it was obvious that Mao wasn't planning to add anything, Almaz cried, "Ma-Mao-seenseiii! How cruel can you get?! That can't be the whole lesson! I already knew most of that!"

He didn't receive even a passing glance when Mao shook his head, an evil smirk coming over his face, "So sorry, my dear student. There's just so much things to test on you that I can't cut corners."

Almaz grabbed at his shoulder, nearly hysterical with distress, "But-but won't people try to kill me? Doesn't everyone come here for the purpose of killing the Overlord?! What if they arrive before I'm ready, Mao-sa-nsei?!"

Mao sighed, closing his book, "Well, obviously I'll protect you until you are, you dolt."

Almaz let go of Mao's jacket and looked at him, in disbelief, "Eh?"

"I said," he started, and raised his head to look at Almaz, instead finding the boy tearing up. He was at a loss for words before saying, "Wh-what? What the hell are you doing? You want a bonus lesson that badly? Fine, Lesson Two Addendum: Overlords must never show tears, no matter what."

Almaz laughed, wiping at his eyes, "Sorry, Mao-sensei. I was just surprised. I never thought you'd honestly say anything that nice to me."

Mao almost felt sick to his stomach as he stood and turned away from the ex-human. "You're already making me regret it," he scoffed, but Almaz just laughed-- as though knowing he wasn't serious.


	3. Lesson 3

Almaz was twitching. Nervous. Distracting. He tapped his fingers on the desk, on his knee, then the desk again. He crossed his legs, stretched out, then uncrossed his legs to lean forward with his elbows on his thighs. He let out a constant stream of sighs as his eyes never left the clock.

The second they did, Mao knew what was coming. Almaz's eyes turned to him, he opened his mouth, but before he could let out a single consonant, Mao glared at him, all but throwing his Slaystation Portable to the floor. "What is the problem, Almaz?" He asked, in the highly controlled tones of someone trying their hardest not to snap. He had died near six times because of the sheer intensity of Almaz's anxiety and restlessness.

Almaz seemed to sense this animosity and swallowed before peering at the demon timidly, "M-Mao-sensei. Do I really have to be late for every meeting?" He glanced at the time again, "It's already been fifteen minutes..."

Mao could feel a sudden inclination to smack Almaz rise up as he once again cursed his father and himself for winding up in this situation. He settled the urge with a gentle rap of his SSP against the top of Almaz's head as he berated his seemingly hopeless pupil. "You fool! If you were to go to the meeting at now of all times, you would be the laughing stock of the entire Netherworld-- nay, the entire universe!" Mao managed to calm himself with a sigh, feeling that giving Almaz a break would be giving himself a break, too. "It would indeed be best if you called a meeting and then didn't show up at all," he lamented, "but your human values are as resilient as ever. It's honestly quite bothersome. If only there was way to just, wipe all that stuff from you and re-educate you as a demon without all this trouble..." Mao heaved another sigh.

Almaz looked rather fearful at the possibility, worried that if anyone could find a way, it just might be Mao. "S-so, that means that we won't be leaving anytime soon, I suppose..?" he extended carefully, trying not to incur Mao's wrath and only half succeeding.

"We'll be leaving in an hour!" Mao decreed, and that was acceptable for Almaz, although now he felt as though time would slow even more. "15 minutes after the designated time!" Mao scoffed at the mere notion. "Had she been invited, the only one who would be there by now would be that delinquent Raspberyl."

At the mention of her name, Almaz brightened. "Ah, that reminds me. How is she doing? Have you seen her around?" Almaz seemed far more excited than Mao should allow him, but luckily sensei was feeling very tired and very tried, and simply waved noncommittally, answering his question instead of scolding him.

"A few times," he replied, turning back to his game, perhaps having a chance of finally beating this boss now that Almaz was focused on other things. However, the slight answer was not good enough for Almaz. His eyes lit up in an extremely embarrassing way, creating an expression that would be downright humiliating for any Overlord to be seen with.

"Ah, really?" he said, "What has she been up to?" Almaz joy at Beryl's mere presence honestly agitated Mao in the secret parts of himself that he thought had been stuffed into the Heart Bank for this very reason. It made him pause as he chided himself. Why should he care about Almaz being glad? It's only been Almaz and himself around the castle, and some prinnies. No one has tried to assassinate him yet, and other than the occasional visit from one of the Diez Gentlemen, it had been somewhat lonely. Almaz had every right to be stoked about the possibility of meeting an old friend, Overlord or not.

It was this long thought process that led to his hero's death for the sixth time in the past 30 minutes. When he realized just how much this feeling was bothering him, Mao felt himself snap a little. "She wants to kill you, Almaz, if you remember correctly?" he was speaking in dark, harsh tones that made Almaz's face fall instantaneously.

"Ah... haha, I suppose you're right," Almaz said after a moment, his voice hushed and his face with a sad smile. "The princess, too..." He took in a low shuddering breath and closed his eyes, smiling with a bit more force, "And she said she'd stay with me forever..." He laughed a little.

"Until you became a hero, which you did. She didn't break her promise," Mao said. It was the truth, but Almaz could only feel the lump in his throat grow. "You threw the title away for your new one and now you're on completely opposite ends of the food chain," Mao chuckled deeply, feeling a bit of dark triumph at the irony of the situation. "It's natural for her to want to destroy you, you know," he told him, his voice completely matter-of-fact.

Almaz swallowed and the fake smile faltered briefly, "What about you, Mao?"

"What?" Mao said, but didn't spare him a glance, reloading his game from the last save. "I'm here until you can stand on your own two feet. You already broke your promise, so you should be thrilled that I'm even sticking around that long."

"But I--" Almaz started, and Mao tried not to notice how pathetic he sounded.

"You were supposed to be my servant forever. Now that you're the Overlord, you can't possibly be my servant," although Mao said this, a part of him was actually glad that it turned out this way. Had Almaz not been appointed Overlord, Mao was sure that he would have returned to the human world, and after the weeks, now months, that they had been together, such an outcome seemed wretched.

"Mao... I, I..." Almaz choked out, and when Mao raised his head to peer at him over the top of his SSP, he could not see Almaz's eyes as he hunched over on his chair. He could see the wavering line of his mouth, the tension in his throat, but his hair obscured his eyes completely. "It isn't fair," he laughed, but it wasn't full of anything other than sorrow, and it suddenly struck Mao that he was being very cruel.

Mao set down the handheld and, in an action that surprised even him, reached out and grabbed Almaz's shoulder. "Are you crying again? Idiot," he muttered, but before the words were even out entirely, Almaz had closed in on him. Mao felt very awkward with Almaz's arms around his neck, and his face and unsteady breaths against his neck, something very wet and salty dampening his overcoat.

"I didn't want to be an Overlord at all!" he sobbed into Mao, making the demon feel very, very bad for one of the very few times in his life. "I just wanted to be, normal. With everyone. To have friends, you know. I never-- wanted..." he choked up.

Mao didn't say a word, he only moved one arm to Almaz's back until he stopped shaking and hiccuping against him. "I thought I told you not to show tears?" he scolded gently.

"Hey, you can't see them, can you?" Almaz retorted, laughing softly, a real laugh that made Mao's chest swell with something close to relief. After a long moment, Almaz still hadn't pulled away. "Will you stay with me, Mao-sensei? Until... a long time from now?" he asked. He did not want to say forever, nor did he want to think until either of them died.

Mao snorted at him, "Even if I promised, I'm a demon. We don't think twice about breaking our promises."

"I trust you," Almaz said, foolishly.

He scoffed this time, "All demons, especially Overlords, must never trust anyone." His voice was stern, but Almaz only smiled.

His tears had been dry for awhile now, but he couldn't bear to let go of Mao just yet, and Mao made no moves to disengage either. "I'm sorry, Mao-sensei. I guess I'm just not a very good demon, let alone an Overlord."

"It's okay," Mao said, "It just means that I'll have to be at your side for a long, long time."

Out of the corner of his eye he spied the red 'Game Over' screen on his Slaystation Portable, but in his current state found that he couldn't care less.


End file.
